Cannot boot from my SSD

[RodrigoMarcos]

Hello, I recently got a SSD and inserted it in my CD slot with an adapter. I cloned my whole HDD data into it (including Windows installation). However, when I enter boot menu (pressing F9) I cannot select the new SSD to boot from it. It will only boot from my old HDD, where I can see all the data is correctly copied to the SSD but I cannot boot from it. Can anyone help me?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The Windows boot manager determines what drive to boot from and as long as you have an operating system on the 2.5'' drive, the notebook will continue to boot from the SSD.

You can get the Windows boot manager to switch to the NVMe SSD by temporarily disconnecting the 2.5" drive.

Run the notebook a while just with the SSD.  Put it through its paces, restart the notebook, shut down the notebook, etc.

When you have determined that all is as it should be, reconnect the 2.5" drive and hopefully the Windows boot manager will stay on the NVMe SSD.

If not, you will have to completely remove Windows from the 2.5" drive.

Notebooks that come with dual drive configurations (M.2 SSD + HDD) from the factory have no operating system on the 2.5" drive.

[RodrigoMarcos]

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. Originally the laptop has a HDD, which is awfully slow. I removed the CD ROM reader and placed a drive slot instead. So now the laptop has the original HDD and a SSD connected to the SATA interface of the original CD ROM. The SDD data is cloned from the original HDD.

In any case from your answer I assume that maybe the only solution is to replace the HDD with the SSD to be able to boot from it?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, put the SSD where the hard drive goes and put the hard drive in the DVD caddy.

You want to do that anyway because the SATA controller for the DVD drive is probably no more than SATA II (3.0 GB/S) and if your notebook is from around 2011 or later the HDD SATA port is SATA III (6.0 GB/S).

A DVD drive can only run at the SATA I (1.5 GB/S) speed so usually that port is of a lower speed.

You're only running the SSD at half its maximum read/write speeds from the DVD caddy.